Tears are streaming down my cheeks now, but I don't care. Around us, I can hear soft sniffles from the audience, but my whole world has narrowed to this man and his words.
"I promise you," he continues, his voice growing stronger, "that I will spend every day of the rest of my life proving that your faith in me wasn't misplaced. I promise to protect you and Adam, to love you both always, and to never again let fear make me walk away from what matters most."
He reaches out to take the first ring from Adam—a thin rose gold band studded with diamonds, and slides it gently onto my finger. "I love you, Sienna Monroe," he murmurs, his voice thick with emotion. "Thank you for choosing me."
I swallow back my tears, forcing myself to speak clearly enough that I can be heard, my voice still wobbling a little. “Damian—you say I saved you, but you saved me first. You saved me not just from the danger you found us in, but from a life where I was just surviving, where I didn’t know how good things could be. You gave us your protection, but more than that, you gave us love."
I can see him swallow hard, his composure cracking again.
"You are the strongest, most honorable man I've ever known. You're fierce in protecting what you love, and brave enough to open your heart even when it scares you. Adam and I are so lucky to be yours."
I slide his ring—a simple platinum band engraved withnavsegda tvoy, ‘forever yours’ in Russian—onto his finger. "I promise to love all of you—your danger, your fierceness, your strength, and your love, forever. I promise to fight for us, to trust you with my heart, and to remind you every day that you deserve to be happy." My voice breaks on the last words. "I love you, Damian. Thank you for making us a family."
Konstantin smiles as we both turn to look at him. “I nowpronounce you man and wife,” he says, amusement in his eyes at the formality of it. “I think it’s time you kissed your bride, Damian.”
He didn’t kiss me at the altar that first rainy night, when he dragged me to the church and made me his. But now, under the rose-covered arch, his hands cupping my face with a gentleness that I know is only for me, his lips meet mine in a deep, devouring kiss that has the guests clapping before he comes up for air. It’s fierce and sweet and full of need and promise, and it’s everything I could have ever wished for and more.
Adam tugs on Damian's jacket, and when Damian kneels down, Adam throws his arms around his neck. "Are you my real daddy now?" he asks loudly enough for everyone to hear.
"I've been your real daddy for weeks," Damian tells him, his voice rough with emotion. "Now it's just official."
"Good," Adam says matter-of-factly. "Can we have cake now?"
The laughter from the guests is warm and genuine, and I feel my heart swell with happiness. This is it—everything I could have wanted, all the joy I could possibly have wished for. We’re here, together, despite everything, and I couldn’t possibly ask for more.
The reception is held in the grand ballroom of the mansion, decorated with more fairy lights and roses, and catered with a menu that Mrs. Horvat oversaw personally. It’s intimate and warm and everything I could have asked for out of a wedding. And through it all, Damian is next to me, his hands never leaving me for long. He’s always touching me—holding my hand, brushing my waist, touching my hair. He’s relaxed in a way that I’ve never seen before, and it makes my heart ache to see it, in the best possible way.
When the dancing begins, he spins me around the floor like we've been doing this for years, holding me close and whispering things in my ear that make me blush and laugh, promises for our wedding night that I can’t wait to capitalize on. But it's the moments with Adam that really get to me. Damian dances with him too, lifting him up so Adam can stand on his feet, spinning him until he's dizzy with giggles. Later, when Adam gets cranky and overwhelmed, Damian scoops him up without hesitation, settling himagainst his chest where Adam promptly falls asleep, thumb in his mouth.
"He's getting heavy," I murmur, moving to take Adam from him.
"I've got him," Damian says softly, adjusting his hold so Adam is more comfortable. "He's fine." He holds him until Mrs. Horvat appears to sweep Adam away for the evening, leaving Damian and me to enjoy the remainder of our reception. Konstantin finds me at one point when Damian briefly leaves to get us a fresh round of drinks, watching him with a brotherly amusement.
“Take care of him,” Konstantin says, glancing over at me, and I smile back.
"Always," I promise.
"And let him take care of you, too. He needs to feel useful."
I laugh. "Trust me, he's very useful. In more ways than one."
Konstantin groans. “I don’t need to know. In fact, get that man upstairs. He hasn’t taken his hands off of you all night.”
It’s clear, when Damian returns, that he has the same idea. We have another round of drinks, dancing until his hands start to roam over my hips, and I grin up at him.
“Upstairs?”
“We don’t even have to go that far. Perks of living in a mansion,” he says with a grin.
“Are we going to stay here permanently?” We haven’t really talked about it, and I’m happy no matter what. But a small part of me would like to have our own home, something that we pick out, just the two of us.
“We can talk about it,” Damian assures me. “I’m happy with whatever you want, Sienna. Truly.”
He sweeps me up into his arms then, carrying me out of the ballroom to the claps and cheers of the guests, all the way upstairs to the room that was mine, and is now ours. He puts me down and turns me gently, his hands finding their way to the buttons of my dress, eager to undo them.
“Thank you,” I murmur softly, as his fingers glide down my spine, a shudder of pleasure rippling through my body.
"For what?" he asks curiously, deftly undoing another button.
